Syrian folk dancers stomp their way into Egyptian society
Syrian refugees who formed a dabke troupe four years ago are increasingly popular at Egyptian weddings, birthdays and other celebrations.
In recent years, Syrian dabke, an Arab folk dance native to the Levant, has became a popular feature at Egyptian events, largely due to a Syrian dancer, who, fleeing war, landed in Alexandria.
Mahmoud Abu al-Ezz arrived in Egypt four years ago from Damascus, where he was born and raised. Like so many other Syrians, he and his family fled for their lives to escape the Syrian civil war. They did so at the risk of losing their careers, which in Abu al-Ezz's case had began in the alleyways of the Syrian capital.
Not wanting to abandon his dance career, Abu al-Ezz recruited a group of Syrian refugees to form a folk dance troupe. He named it Saif al-Sultan, after his group back home.
“I started the dance troupe around four years ago,” Abu al-Ezz, told Al-Monitor. “At first, we were only around 12 members, all male, all Syrian refugees, including a 5-year-old. I trained all of them, as some had never worked with a dance group before.”
